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VIEX ticket booths torched, organizers looking for community support

A Nanaimo firefighters putting out the blaze at one of two ticket booths which caught fire on Sunday, June 17.submitted/Brian Cornborough

The charred remains of a ticket booth at the VIEX.submitted/Brian Cornborough

NANAIMO — Vancouver Island Exhibition organizers are in a difficult position after two of their ticket booths were burned down.

They were damaged on Sunday, June 17 in the afternoon. One is completely destroyed while the other suffered significant damage.

“These ticket booths are an integral part of our fair and as we only have eight weeks before the fair, this is a huge loss for us,” VIEX president Brian Cornborough said said in a release.

There's no budgeted money for replacements, which is why organizers are turning to the public for donations of supplies. The manpower needed to rebuild is already secured, they just need items like plywood, 2x4's and screws to once again have ticket booths.

Though a cause of the fire isn't known yet, Cornborough said there were numerous thefts over the last month and 10 locks were cut to get into the barns at the fairgrounds.

The VIEX starts Aug. 17 and ends on the 19.

Anyone who can lend their support is urged to call the VIEX office number at (250) 758-3247.